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Like Being in High School Again (Read 399 times)

diane_77


    I miss having a running girl buddy.  I used to run with my sister back when we were both single and living with our parents.  Running with my husband is nice, but it doesn't happen often, and now he's nursing a strained ligament in his ankle.  Plus having a girl friend to run with is different.  I wish I could make friends with one of the ladies that run in my neighborhood.  I'm just not sure how I go about it though.  Do I try to run with them if I happen to see them when I'm out for a run?  Do I pass them a note so as not to break their stride too much with a note that says "Hi, I'm Diane.  Wanna be running buddies?"  Do I go to the HOA meeting in hopes that one of them will be there to strike up a conversation with?

     

    What if I do and they say they like to run alone?  Or what if they say "Sure let's run together sometime," and it turns out that they are much faster than me?  The latter is more likely since I run about a 11 to 12 minute mile at present.  Or what if our personalities just don't mesh?  Really, it's like being the new kid in high school again, trying to make friends.

     

    I'm sure I'm sounding kinda pathetic, but it would be nice to make a new running friend.

    meaghansketch


      Have you tried a local running club?  I've met a number of friends and running buddies through mine.  Some days there is no one going as slow as me so I just run alone, other times there are several people going my pace.


      an amazing likeness

        Local running clubs / groups often have weekend group runs where you may meet someone to pair up with during the week, or during the group run session.

        Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

        MJ5


        Chief Unicorn Officer

          Definitely look into a local club. Mine has runners of all levels! Sometimes it's just a matter of right place, right time. I met my RP almost like a blind date--a friend from high school emailed me to tell me her sister in law always ran and was looking for someone to run with. I emailed her. We've now been RP's for over 2 years!

          Mile 5:49 - 5K 19:58 - 10K 43:06 - HM 1:36:54

          diane_77


            The closest running club is another town away, and their website does not even say when groups get together or what they do.  It just posts a bunch of by-laws, and gives a list of discounts that you can get at certain businesses if you buy a membership.  So I don't think I would be able to go to any group runs (if they have any, because the site didn't say anything about that) to try the group out unless I actually plucked some money down.

            I would love to find something locally like November-Project, but groups like that don't exist in Small-Town, Texas.

            jerseyrunner


            Half Fanatic 12680

              Do you have a local running store? They sometimes organize group runs -- the one in my town does.

               

               

              diane_77


                Do you have a local running store? They sometimes organize group runs -- the one in my town does.

                 

                Not in my town.  The closest one is about a 30 minute drive away in another town closer to Austin.  It might be worth looking into though if they have super early runs on Saturdays.

                  I am in a similar situation as you. I am a Quality Manager for a small company by day, and a martial arts instructor by night. EVERYONE knows I run. But, finding a good running partner is almost impossible. What I have been trying to do lately, is pick local races that are several months off, and then organize a "team" to run in it. But... The biggest problem I have had is on race day, no one shows up.

                   

                  For example, back in June I had an eight person team organized for a group race. Four never showed up, (not even an excuse), the fifth broke her ankle the day before the race, and one showed up ten minutes after our heat left. My 12 year old daughter and I were the only two that made it. We filled in on some empty slots in other teams.

                   

                  I gave that story because I still feel it CAN work. The hardest part is that keeping the enthusiasm high over months of training is difficult. I just need to find a group of self-motivated individuals. At the moment I do 90% of my runs alone, and the rest are with my daughter. She isn't much for distance, but she is fun on short runs. She even mentioned last night that she was asked to try-out for the school track team. She told the coach no, but she asked my opinion, so she is obviously still considering it.

                  Julia1971


                    I would approach them at a time when they aren't running - something like the HOA meeting or at the grocery store - and introduce myself (since it seems like you're a stranger to these women) and open a general conversation about running - "Hey, I think I've seen you around the neighborhood running.  My name is Diane,  I live off of Main St".  Hopefully during this conversation, you'll get a sense for what type of runner they are.  But, even if it sounds like they may be fast, you can still ask.  She may just want a running partner on her easy days.   I don't think you need to say more than something like, 'It was so nice meeting you, Esmerelda.  I hope to see you around.  We should go on a run together sometime.  Can I get your email?"  Odds are she'll say "Yes".  And if it doesn't ultimately work out - your paces are way off, your schedules don't sync - you've made a friend with a neighbor, which is a good thing.

                    mab411


                    Proboscis Colossus

                       

                      I would love to find something locally like November-Project, but groups like that don't exist in Small-Town, Texas.

                       

                      Ouch.  I feel your pain!  I'm near Tyler.  But not near enough.

                       

                      There isn't a running club in my town, but I suspect I could get one together...over the years, I've become aware of more and more people around who run (maybe not as much as I do), and several that seem interested.  If I ever decide to make a go of it, I would probably put up a flyer at the local gym and an ad on craigslist to get things rolling.  There's a nature preserve nearby that I've just discovered has some good (but short) running trails, so I'd probably put something up there.  And, the local radio station has a "general store" call-in show that people can use to sell items, make announcements, etc. that I'd utilize as well.

                       

                      If your town doesn't have those things, I bet there is something somewhere in town, even a corner store or the Dairy Queen, where people put up flyers and announcements.  I've been talking about starting a running club, but if you just want to find one person, I bet you could go about it in a similar way.

                       

                      Edit: though if you put up a flyer at Dairy Queen, you'd have to word it carefully, and definitely not go to the first meet-up alone.

                      "God guides us on our journey, but careful with those feet." - David Lee Roth, of all people


                      Petco Run/Walk/Wag 5k

                        Have you tried using meetup.com to see if there are any local runners? I'm in north east Austin and it was how I first found local runners when  I moved here. Of course, as a slow old man they were all to fast for me to stay with other than at the start and breakfast later when we all finished. Still made some friends.I responded to some posts looking for running partners, but none of the folks who happened to be female would take a chance on a 67yo male so I continued solo. My neighborhood had a web site forum that I posted on to no avail, although there is growing use of Nextdoor.com but I haven't tried to use it to find a buddy. Most are faster than me anyway. You might see if your neighborhood has a list serve or web site.

                         

                        I Didn't run with a group until I hooked up with a running coach, Coach Ashley of ACT Running, who focused on beginners. We knew each other from one of the meetup runs so even tho I am the only male in the groups I am accepted by the young ladies we run with.

                         

                        Good luck.

                        bob e v
                        2014 goals: keep on running! Is there anything more than that?

                        Complete the last 3 races in the Austin Distance Challenge, Rogue 30k, 3M Half, Austin Full

                        Break the 1000 mi barrier!

                        History: blessed heart attack 3/15/2008; c25k july 2008 first 5k 10/26/2008 on 62nd birthday.

                        diane_77


                          What I may do is start a group on meetup.com, since there isn't anyone close by.  Not sure if anyone will see it though.  Also, I may post a flyer on the corkboard outside of the local grocery store.  I dunno.  I don't have much hope for it either way.  Who knows, maybe I'll actually in touch with one of the ladies in my neighborhood.  If not, there are worse things in life.

                          Supersono99


                            Does your community/HOA have a website where you can post messages? Mine has a bulletin board type thing. Of yours does, you could post on there for a RP.


                            some call me Tim

                              You might want to try the running club anyway. People in clubs are often longtime runners who know others in the area as well as other little track clubs, race organizers, etc. My wife and I joined our local club and although a lot of the stuff that happens we'd have to drive a half an hour for, it put us in touch with people and we found a few that live out in our neck of the woods who didn't want to drive that far to do a weekly track workout. So we ended up organizing a track night in our area and people brought others from outside the club and the whole thing just kind of snowballed. Having an in is a good thing, even if it may not seem ideal at first.

                                Running ultimately is a lonely sport. Having running mates is nice when it happens and even better if you run similar paces, but even then you might both have different objectives for the day or you are in different stage of your recovery (or partied a bit too much last night) and one of you is compromising, which is fine if you are not OCD about it and can rearrange your schedule if needed.

                                 

                                Running with a slightly faster partner in my opinion is one of the best ways to get fast

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